{"id":41688,"date":"2025-03-16T12:05:26","date_gmt":"2025-03-16T12:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41688"},"modified":"2025-03-16T12:05:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-16T12:05:26","slug":"i-was-feeding-off-it-chicago-cubs-experience-electric-atmosphere-in-3-0-exhibition-loss-to-hanshin-tigers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41688","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I was feeding off it\u2019: Chicago Cubs experience electric atmosphere in 3-0 exhibition loss to Hanshin Tigers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

TOKYO \u2014 A cacophony of chants, horns, drums and cheers greeted Chicago Cubs right-hander Julian Merryweather as he faced the Hanshin Tigers leadoff hitter Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The Tigers support section in right field kept the Tokyo Dome buzzing every bottom half of the inning, with coordinated cheers erupting for each Hanshin batter, a vocal ferocity maintained through the entire at-bat. While silence greeted Cubs hitters against Hanshin starter Keito Mombetsu and its relievers, the nine Cubs pitchers who appeared in the 3-0 exhibition loss experienced a very different atmosphere.<\/p>\n

Merryweather wasn\u2019t fazed by the electric environment, needing only six pitches to record a perfect first inning in a bullpen game for the Cubs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was different for sure, first time experiencing anything like that,\u201d Merryweather said. \u201cI mean, obviously we\u2019re used to sellouts at Wrigley, but the fans were just cheering the whole time. \u2026 I kind of liked the energy from the crowd cheering. I think the language barrier helped because I didn\u2019t know what they\u2019re saying, but it was good energy so I was feeding off it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contrasting silent backdrop didn\u2019t seem to help Cubs hitters against Mombetsu, who was perfect through five innings. Miguel Amaya\u2019s one-out single in the sixth versus reliever Nick Nelson finally put a runner on base. The Cubs, though, managed just three hits in the loss, including a single by Seiya Suzuki, who was greeted by constant cheers throughout the game.<\/p>\n

Suzuki smoked two other balls for bad-luck line outs \u2014 both barreled balls that had an expected average of .720 and .970, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserved a hit with how hard he hit a couple balls today,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said.<\/p>\n

The Tigers broke through with a run in three consecutive innings, taking advantage of a two-out double off lefty Caleb Thielbar in the third, a one-out double after a steal against right-hander Tyson Miller and a double following a single and walk with right-hander Porter Hodge on the mound.<\/p>\n

Amaya had an idea of what the environment might be like from watching previous World Baseball Classic games in Japan, as well as checking out a few Nippon Professional Baseball games.<\/p>\n

\"\u2018I
Baseball fans cheer for the Hanshin Tigers in the first inning against the Cubs in an exhibition game at the Tokyo Dome on March 15, 2025, in Tokyo. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u2018I
Cubs pitcher Tyson Miller throws against the Hanshin Tigers in the fourth inning of an exhibition game at the Tokyo Dome on March 15, 2025. (John J. Kim\/Chicago Tribune)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI know they go crazy, but once you\u2019re in the game, you\u2019re engaged in the game, you\u2019re just locked in with your pitcher, with your teammates,\u201d Amaya said. \u201cIt was such an amazing experience playing in front of these fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the Cubs possess some basic knowledge of their exhibition opponents \u2014 Counsell noted in Friday\u2019s news conference how much Hanshin likes to run; the Tigers were 3-for-3 in stolen-base attempts Saturday \u2014 they otherwise don\u2019t possess much insight for advance scouting reports. That\u2019s the nature of the crossover games. Counsell, though, was looking forward to that element of the Cubs games versus Hanshin and the Yomiuri Giants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in an era of baseball now where information dominates every bit of preparation, and we get to play two games where there\u2019s not a lot of information, and that\u2019s fun as an older person going back to an era where I played, like, we might have to ask the hitter before what\u2019s he got?\u201d Counsell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think that\u2019s fun. Now we\u2019ll see if our hitters like it. I think our hitters, they want the information. I think our pitchers, you just stay on the attack, pitch to your strengths. So a little bit easier from that end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amaya experienced both ends of that. Behind the plate, he noticed Hanshin hitters were not as aggressive in the first inning. But once the game progressed, he felt the Tigers were swinging more. From the hitter side, Tigers pitchers often relied on their two best pitches before flashing another \u201cthey had in the back pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re trying to compete too,\u201d Amaya said. \u201cIt was an amazing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cubs get another taste of an NPB environment Sunday in Japan when they play Yomiuri. Perhaps watching the raucous chants and cheers that NPB teams\u2019 supporters break out will inspire Cubs fans to bring that same type of vibe to the Wrigley Field bleachers. Merryweather is on board with the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure, let\u2019s see what they come up with, at least throw it out there,\u201d he said before adding, \u201cMight be dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suzuki laughed when asked whether Cubs fans should come up with songs for all the hitters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d fear that something wild would happen, so let\u2019s keep it the way it is,\u201d Suzuki quipped.<\/p>\n

Originally Published:

A cacophony of chants, horns, drums and cheers greeted Julian Merryweather as he faced the Hanshin Tigers, while Chicago Cubs hitters experienced a very different atmosphere in the 3-0 exhibition l\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282,823,1239,1238,592,1240,938],"class_list":["post-41688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-craig-counsell","tag-hanshin-tigers","tag-matthew-boyd","tag-seiya-suzuki","tag-tokyo-dome","tag-tokyo-series"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018I was feeding off it\u2019: Chicago Cubs experience electric atmosphere in 3-0 exhibition loss to Hanshin Tigers - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=41688\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018I was feeding off it\u2019: Chicago Cubs experience electric atmosphere in 3-0 exhibition loss to Hanshin Tigers - 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